The driver of the city bus in Katowice drove a 19-year-old girl on Saturday morning, the woman died. A video depicting the event has appeared on the Internet. Before the tragedy, there was a fight in the street, the participants of which made it difficult for the bus to travel. – The driver could stop and call the police or honk. He made his third decision and set off. He had to reckon with the fact that he could hit someone – says the transport psychologist. The driver heard the charge of homicide and was arrested. It is known that he was under the influence of drugs.
On Saturday, around six in the morning in the center of Katowice, near the stop at Mickiewicza Street, before the intersection with Stawowa Street, a 31-year-old city bus driver drove a 19-year-old woman, the woman died on the spot. The course of the event was recorded and the video was published on social media. Anyone could watch it.
– We can consider various options, because we have time for it and we have the opportunity to view the recording many times. The driver has much less time to make a decision, sometimes a few seconds – said Ewa Tokarczyk, transport psychologist on TVN24.
The deduction took place in KatowiceTVN24
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He should take into account that he might hit someone while moving
The recording shows that a fight was taking place before the tragedy at Mickiewicz. A group of people fighting with each other on the road made it impossible for the bus, driven by the 31-year-old, to travel. In the video, we observe the event from a distance of several meters from the driver’s side. We cannot see what is happening on the right side of the bus, where the passenger door is.
– The situation was sudden, difficult, stressful for the driver – Ewa Tokarczyk said on the air, assessing the recording. – He had several options to choose from. He could have stopped and called the police. Stop and honk. Everyone responds with interest to the horn signal, there was a high probability that the participants of the fight would react to the horn and somehow it would be interrupted – the psychologist added.
In the picture, disseminated on the Internet along with the sound, you can hear trumpets, as well as screams and curses of pedestrians. – [Kierowca – red.] made a third decision – moved on. If he did move, he had to take into account the fact that facing a dynamic situation, people moving in directions difficult to define, sometimes in panic that he did not control the situation, he did not see all road users – in this case pedestrians. He should take into account that while moving, he may hit someone – said the psychologist. According to her, it is unreliable that he could not have known about it, given that he has been a driver for 10 years.
Fighters would have to recognize the driver as a common enemy
The 31-year-old did not stop after the accident. The police caught up with him in the depot. On Sunday he was questioned by the prosecutor.
31-year-old bus driver brought to the prosecutor’s office in KatowiceTVN24
He explained that he was afraid for his health and life, that he would be attacked by people fighting on the road. – The suspect claimed that he thought that someone was kicking the door, that the door was even supposed to open, and then he closed it. The suspect claimed that at one point he thought that a group of these people would attack him from the right and the left, so he undertook this maneuver to start the bus – Monika Łata from the press office of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Katowice reported to the media.
Łukasz T. heard the accusations of the murder of a 19-year-old girl and the attempted murder of two people 1.08 | The 31-year-old bus driver Łukasz T. heard the accusation of the murder of one person and the attempted murder of two people, the Katowice prosecutor’s office reported on Sunday. The man is suspected of having fatally hit a 19-year-old woman. A video has appeared on the network which shows that a dozen or so people had fought before the tragedy. The 31-year-old was arrested. He is facing life imprisonmentTVN24
Ewa Tokarczyk referred to these explanations on the air. – [Kierowca – red.] he met the participants of the fight, people who were fighting each other. If they were to pose a threat to the driver, then they – the current enemies – would have to recognize the driver as a common enemy to attack the bus, the driver together, not fighting, but cooperating – commented the psychologist.
Therefore, in her opinion, the decision of the 31-year-old to start the bus was inadequate to the situation. – [Kierowca- red.] he could take the position that if he moved slowly, he would force the participants of the fight to disperse, prevent further fight from among the options which were the least of the blame for him. Perhaps he had this way of reasoning, but he had to reckon with the fact that in such a situation he would not notice someone, that suddenly someone would run under his wheels, that he would not have time to brake – she summed up.
At the same time, she emphasized that it is difficult for her to deny the subjective feelings of the driver. At the time of our conversation with her, the toxicological opinion regarding the results of the driver’s blood tests was still unknown. As Monika Łata informed us, The 31-year-old was under the influence of antidepressants and painkillers. The prosecutor’s office informed us about it after 9 o’clock. So far, it is not known how these drugs could affect the driver’s behavior. An expert will speak about it.
Main photo source: TVN24